Bitter Frost
by RealityIsNegotiable
Summary: A young girl, tired of the Northern Water Tribe, runs away from home to Republic City. All she wanted was a new life in the city far away from annoying traditions, outdated customs, and a harmful arranged marriage. What she got though was a brewing war, new and old enemies, and a mysterious Revolutionary leader who might not be what she wants but what she needs. Amon/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the characters you don't recognize from _Legend of Korra_**

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"Identification, please."

I set my passport in front of woman who reminded me of a wild animal. Her dark brown eyes looked like two splotches of mud. Her dry midnight black hair that probably reached the middle of her back was braided down the side. Her wardrobe was very green and unflattering for her form. I looked at her nametag and discovered her name was Adala.

Adala snatched my passport from the counter without taking her eyes off mine. I smiled awkwardly at her but didn't receive one in return. Adala slowly looked down at my passport and read over the information it contained. I became increasingly nervous as she read dreadfully slow. I was afraid Ajala had seen something on the passport that didn't belong.

"Natsumi Cho," Adala said. "Born in the Fire Nation Capital and age eighteen on September twelfth."

With a nod of my head, I said, "Yes, that's right."

The only thing correct on the passport was my birthday. I'm not Natsumi Cho nor was I born in the Fire Nation; the passport was fake if you couldn't tell already. I couldn't use my real name or birth place because I would be found within a matter of days.

Adala lowered my passport and glared down at me with beady eyes. I resisted the urge to shift my eyes away from her intense stare. Whenever I was caught lying I'd look off at something in the distance. I had always been a terrible liar; it was the reason I could never get away with things back home. I forced myself to continue looking at Adala with a smile on my face. I wiped the sweat from my hands onto my dress trying not to look to suspicious.

When Adala went back to looking at my passport, I glanced behind me to see a long line had formed. I gave the people an apologetic smile and turned back to Adala.

"You know what I find funny?" Adala asked. "You look nothing like a Fire Nation citizen to me."

"That's because," I said, "my father is Fire Nation and my mother is Water Tribe. I obviously took after my mother in the looks department."

It was a complete lie. I didn't have one ounce of Fire Nation in me; I was a pure blooded Northern Water Tribe girl. My skin was light brown and my eyes were ocean blue like almost every other Water Tribe member. The only thing that didn't scream Water Tribe was my clothes. I had on a long red dress that was typical for a normal teenage girl in the Fire Nation. It wasn't anything fancy and didn't draw interest to myself which is what I wanted.

My attention went back to Adala as she grabbed something on her desk. It was a stamp. She lifted the stamp into the air without taking her eyes off me then she brought it back down onto my passport.

"Welcome to Republic City, Natsumi," Adala said.

I smiled in victory; she had just approved me being here in Republic City. Adala pushed my passport back over to me and I grabbed it before she changed her mind. I stuffed it into one of my bags then turned back to Adala. I was about to thank her but she shooed my away before I could say anything. I threw my bag over my shoulder then picked up my suitcases and walked out of the train station.

When I got outside, I blinked several times trying to get used to sun. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the brightness I took in the sight of the city and grinned. I had always wanted to visit Republic City since I was a little girl growing up in the North Pole. I had heard about everything the city had to offer from men who had visited the city. I had asked my own father to go but he refused and said he didn't want me to become modernized like city people. My mother said no as well only because of my father's answer; I knew she wanted to visit the city just as much as I did.

I lost my smile when I continued to think about my father. He was part of the reason I ran away from the tribe two weeks ago. He was controlling and demanded that I be married before I turned eighteen in the coming weeks. I had actually been engaged to a man named Katio since I turned sixteen but I have thought of every excuse for not marrying him. Katio was the other reason I left the North Pole. I didn't love him and he didn't love me; he only wanted to marry me because of the status it would bring him. I don't think Katio is capable of truly loving someone; he was cold and hateful.

I sighed and pushed away the terrible memories of my father and Katio. I didn't want to be upset on my first day in the city. I glanced down and realized I still needed to change out of this cheap Fire Nation dress. I didn't feel right wearing the color of a nation I didn't belong to. I walked down the steps of train station and looked around for a restaurant to change in. I spotted one named Ilesha' Place across the street in a started to rush over to it. I paused before crossing to wait for a Satomobile to drive by then I continued over to the restaurant.

I pushed open the door and saw it was extremely busy and loud. Families were located in the front of the restaurant while couples without kids were located toward the middle. Single men and woman hovered in the back by the bar. I had never been to a place so loud before; back in the North Pole everyone was extremely quiet and respectful of the silence.

I went into the back of the restaurant to look for the girl's bathroom and found it was a one toilet room. Once I locked the door, I immediately took off the dress and dropped it on the floor. I glanced up into the mirror and winced when I saw my left upper arm. It was a black and blistered frost bite that was about four inches wide and two inches tall. The night before I ran away, Katio and I had gotten into another fight and he decided to use his water bending on me. He had frozen water on my upper arm and held it there for fifteen minutes while I cried and begged him to stop. He had refused and said I needed to learn my place. He had only let me go because my mother had walked in.

I ripped my eyes away from my arm and dug through my bag. I grabbed the white bandages and started to wrap them around my arm to hide the frost bite. Then I pulled out black shorts that reached my mid-thigh then I grabbed a black undershirt. The last article of clothing I put on was a long blue shirt that had one sleeve on the right side and a white ribbon across the waist. I pulled my hair back into a half up style then I picked up my bag and suitcases. I walked out of the back out of the restaurant and headed for downtown Republic City. I didn't know where I was going to stay but I'm sure I could find a cheap hotel somewhere.

As I was about to turn the corner a loud voice caught my attention. I looked back to see a large crowd gathered around a man standing on a table. I paused then decided I wanted to see why everyone was congregating.

"Join the Revolution," the man on the table said. "Amon will lead the way to betterment and equality!"

"What's the Revolution?" I asked a woman next to me.

"Oh, it's stupid," the woman answered. "Some non-benders of the city are trying to start a war against benders. They want everyone to be equal. They think they don't get treated fairly. What a joke, huh? They have more rights than us benders do."

I didn't reply. I knew how the non-benders of the city probably felt. My parents, my three little sisters, and little brother could all bend water while I couldn't even move a drop. My oldest little sister, Kaya, would tell me every day how ashamed our parents were of me because I was their first child and couldn't bend. Because couldn't bend like the rest of my family, I would often be left at home when they did outings together. I wasn't allowed to go because the trips were for benders only.

Suddenly I was pushed and I realized the man on the table was done speaking. People around me were leaving with either smiles of happiness or scowls of discontentment on their faces. I noticed in some people's hands was a paper with the word _Revolution_ written on the top.

I looked up to where the man had been speaking and saw, for the first time, a large poster with what I assumed was man. The man had on a white mask with a red circle on the forehead and a hood covered his head. I took a few steps closer and saw how chilling the man's eyes were; I shivered at the sight of them. My gaze returned to the man who had been standing on the table. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped back and lifted his arms up like he was going to karate chop me.

"Sorry," I said, "I didn't mean to scare you. Can I ask you a question?"

"Not a bender, are you?"

"No."

With a wide grin on his face, he asked, "What's your question?"

"How is this Revolution going to work?" I questioned. "I mean, how are you going to make everyone equal?

The man didn't answer instead he twisted around and grabbed a paper on the table. He handed the paper to me and I looked down at it. On the front was the same man with the mask who was on the poster and the word _Revolution_. I turned it over to see a map.

"Your answer," the man said, "lies at the rally tomorrow night."

* * *

I wanted to believe I was just being paranoid but every time I glimpsed back I would see the same two men. I first saw them fifteen minutes ago when I was looking at a street vendor's necklaces. They were about five feet from where I was but I didn't think anything of it. I started to take notice when I realized they were always same vendor I was just at a few minutes before.

I stopped at another street vendor who was selling clothes. I acted like I was looking at the skirts but I was really getting a better look at the two men following me.

The first of the two had slanted charcoal colored eyes and brown medium-length hair. He was tall and had a broad-shouldered build. His skin was light brown like mine. His forehead was large and his ears were small. He wore black pants and a black shirt that looked two sizes too small. The second man had deep-set amber eyes with curly black hair. He was about five inches shorter than his friend and had a plump build. He was also wearing black pants but instead of a black shirt, he had on a red button up one.

I looked back at the skirts in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the two men turn to each other and exchange a few words before walking toward me. I ignored them the best I could until I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned quickly, threw the hand off of me, and glared at the two men in front of me.

"Can I help you?" I snarled.

Both men smiled creepily at each other before turning it on me. The taller of the two snaked his arm around my waist.

"My name is Charan," he said. "My friend over there is Ryuu. We were wondering if you'd like to come get a drink with us."

"No thanks," I said.

I twisted out of Charan hold and tried to step away from the two men. Before I could move another step, Charan grabbed my left wrist. He pulled me close and leaned down so that his face was a mere inch away.

"Do you know who we are?" Charan asked.

"No," I replied, "but I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

Charan growled at my answer and grabbed both my arms and squeezed. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out in pain; Charan was holding my arm right where my frost bite was.

"I am a water bender," Charan said. "Ryuu is a fire bender."

"And that's supposed to mean something me?"

I felt tears welling up when Charan tightened his grip on my arms. The longer and firmer he held onto my frost bitten arm the more painful it became. Ryuu stepped closer to me and lit a flame in his hand.

"You should be happy," Ryuu said, "that benders are actually paying attention to a worthless non-bender."

Ryuu grabbed my chin with his free hand and brought the flame up to my face. I tried to back away but both men held on tighter. I looked around hoping someone would try to help but no one would meet my eye. When the flame was only an inch away, I brought up my foot and kicked Charan hard in the groin. He instantly let go of me as did Ryuu who didn't know what just happened.

I took off toward the direction of my hotel. I glanced back once to see Ryuu and Charan following closely behind me. I felt my heartbeat increase when I saw the look both men were giving me; I knew if they caught me I was good as dead. I weaved in and out of people who were shopping and paid no mind to the ones who yelled at me for getting in their way. In the distance, I saw my hotel but knew I couldn't go in there with Charan and Ryuu so close on my heel; if they didn't get me now than they would come back for me at the hotel later.

I turned off into an alley way and almost screamed in horror. At the end of the alley was a wall which blocked my way to freedom. I kept running until I was halfway to the wall. There was no way I could get over it in time and there was no way I could turn back. I closed my eyes when I heard two men laughing behind me.

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**A/N Thanks for reading :) Tell me if it was any good; I'd love to know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks to ****_SnapePotionsMistress_****, ****_Maybird-Zero_****, and ****_Anime-baka _****for putting this story on their alerts :)**

**_SnapePotionsMistress_****: Thank you for your review! Also 'Natsumi's' real name will be revealed soon actually.**

**_Anime-baka_****: Thanks a lot for your review! I hope I can update often.**

**_Anon_****: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like my OC; I'm trying to make her a well-rounded character!**

**_Tiva100_****: Thanks for your review! And I will keep writing haha :)**

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I didn't turn around because I knew it was Charan and Ryuu laughing behind me. I looked around for an escape route and spotted fire escape stairs a few feet ahead of me. Even if I ran fast enough to the stairs, I didn't know if I could get up. The pullout stairs to the first platform were broken which means I'd have to jump high to get to it.

I finally spun around to see how close Charan and Ryuu were to me. I saw they were keeping their distance but they both were smirking at me. Ryuu lit another flame in his hand and Charan bended water out of a pouch on his side. They were getting ready to attack. I decided then that I would take my chance at jumping onto the stairs than be tortured by Charan and Ryuu. I sprinted quickly over to the fire escape and jumped as high as I could to reach the platform. Fortunately for me, I caught hold of it but unfortunately I didn't have any clue how I was going to pull myself up; my upper body strength is nonexistent.

Behind me I heard Charan and Ryuu shouting and running toward me. I tired the best I could to get up onto the platform before the two men reached me but I couldn't. I felt a cold hand grab my ankle and yank hard on it. I looked down and saw Charan holding onto me with a sneer on his face. I hung on tighter to the platform refusing to let go and fall into Charan hands. Suddenly I felt water wrapping around my leg; I looked down again to see Charan freezing it.

In a panic, I began kicking my free leg wildly; I didn't want my leg to become frost-bitten as well. I felt my foot connect with Charan's face and he instantly let me go and howled out in pain. Before one of the men could grab my again, I used all my strength to pull myself up onto the platform. I didn't pause to rest instead I got off my stomach and ran up the stairs.

I glanced back to see a giant flame coming toward me. My eyes widened and I fell to the ground to avoid being burned alive. I breathed out in reflief when the flame missed me by a mere inch. I didn't have time to catch my breath because another ball of fire was coming at me. I stood up and took off up the stairs occasionally looking back at my attackers. I saw Charan was bending water to try to catch me while Ryuu sent another burst of flames my way; it missed me by a foot. As I watched Ryuu's frustrated expression I realized he couldn't bend his fire that far. Charan then tried to hit me with a water whip but fell short as well.

My lips curled into a smirk as Charan and Ryuu continued trying to hit me with fire and water. Every time they sent something my way, it would stay about a foot away from me. I sat down on a step and stared down at my attackers.

"Not a very good benders, are you?" I teased.

Ryuu and Charan glared harshly at me while I gave them a fake smile. I knew I shouldn't be mocking them especially because I couldn't bend to defend myself but I couldn't help it. They could talk the talk but when it came time to perform, they failed miserably. They reminded me of Kaya; she could bend and liked to brag about it to me face but she couldn't bend well. She actually got kicked out of medical training because she couldn't do anything right.

I laughed at another unsuccessful attempt to hit me with either fire or water. They continued trying for a few more minutes until the attacks abruptly stopped. I looked down to see Ryuu lifting Charan onto the fire escape. Instead of teasing Charan and Ryuu I should have run for help.

"Aw crap," I whispered.

I stood up and started to run up the stairs to the top of the apartment. I had just reached the fourth platform when I fell to the ground and hit my head on the bottom step. I sat up rubbing my head and looked at what tripped me; the platform was frozen. I glanced down to Charan grinning at me as he sent a water whip my way. I didn't have time to move so the whip hit my arm and slashed a long line down it. Blood began seeping out of the gash right away. I cried in pain but didn't have time to nurse my wound because Charan and Ryuu were making their way up to me.

I got up as fast as I could and resumed running slower than before. I felt the part of my head where I hit it when I fell. When I pulled my hand away I saw blood covered my hand. I lowered my hand and didn't stop running; I didn't think about how blood I had just seen. I reached the top of the apartment and paused for just a second to see if I could make it over to the next building. I decided I could and took off running before I jumped and landed on the next building.

Unfortunately, I didn't land on my feet like I hoped instead I fell onto my injured arm. I almost yelped but held my tongue when I heard Charan and Ryuu over on the other building.

"The hell? Ryuu said. "Where'd she go? She couldn't have just disappeared."

I prayed that they weren't smart enough to figure out I had jumped to the next building. I brought my hands to my mouth when I felt like a cry was going to escape.

"Look," Charan said, "there's another fire escape. She must have gone down that. Let's go."

I listened as Charan and Ryuu ran down another fire escape. I waited for five minutes before sitting up in casethey decided to come back. I looked at the ground and saw the blood from my arm had formed a small puddle. I felt the top of my head and a small amount blood came off onto my hand. I didn't feel good and I'm guessing it had to do with the significant blood loss. I needed to get to a hospital and fast.

* * *

"Are you kidding me," I said.

I was in the hospital following my attack from Charan and Ryuu. After sitting on top of the apartment building for ten minutes, I finally made my way down to the ground. I had went about twenty feet before collapsing in pain. I stayed there for a few minutes until a man saw me and helped me back up. He then carried me fifteen blocks to the hospital I was in now. I expected him to leave after he had dropped me off but instead he chose to stay with me.

While I was being treated by a Waterbender, the man sat in a chair next to my bed. He stayed silent watching the nurse's every move. When the Metalbending police arrived, he became very tense and excused himself from the room. I was left answering questions that the officers had to ask me. Officer Sheil had finished questioning me and ended with saying they weren't going to arrest Charan and Ryuu.

"I'm sorry," Officer Sheil said, "but there is no way to prove these men did this to you."

"You don't believe me," I said.

With a gentle smile, Officer Sheil said, "Of course I do. However, it's your word against theirs. If we were to press charges, they are more than likely to be found not guilty."

I gritted my teeth and tried to calm myself down. I was about to reply but then the door to my room opened and the man who saved me came in. He was a middle-aged man with black hair and light blue eyes. The thing that made him stand out though was his odd mustache; it fell just passed his chin. I smiled faintly at him then turned my attention back to the Officer Sheil.

"Why?" I questioned. "Because I'm not a bender and they are? Is that?"

Officer Sheil said nothing confirming what I said was true. I closed my eyes and huffed in anger. I felt Officer Sheil put a hand on my shoulder.

"Listen," Officer Sheil. "It has nothing to do with being able to bend or not. Charan and Ryuu are prominent members in the community. How you describe them just doesn't sound like the Charan and Ryuu everyone knows. You'll only be called a liar in court. I don't want to see that happen. Anyway, we have to be going. I hope you feel better."

I crossed my arms and didn't say anything to the officers as they left. When the door shut I turned to the man who helped get to the hospital. I wanted nothing more than to complain to the man about what just happened but I didn't want to bother him with my grievances.

"Thanks for helping me," I said. "I never did catch your name. I'm Ka- I'm Natsumi."

Even though the man did save my life, I didn't want to tell him my real name. Not that I didn't trust him, I just didn't feel like giving my name out to a person I had just met.

"It isn't fair, is it?" The man said.

"What?"

"How non-benders are treated," he said. "Benders are given special treatment because they can control an element. They are above the law while non-benders are treated like trash."

I furrowed my eyebrows as the man spoke. He walked away from the door over to the window that overlooked Republic City. He crossed his arms and stared out the window at the street below. I was shocked at how much loathing was in his voice. I didn't hate benders; I just didn't think it was fair how they were treated better than non-benders sometimes. But I could tell how much this man detested benders by the sound of his voice.

"Well," I said, "not all benders are bad. It's just. . ."

"Have you heard of the Anti-Bending Rally?" The man interrupted.

"Yes."

"Are you coming?"

I didn't answer right away; I didn't know if I was going or not. Though it did sound interesting, I didn't know what to expect. There were obviously people in this city that had a deep hatred for benders and I didn't want to see anyone get hurt.

"I might," I finally said. "I haven't decided yet."

The man turned back around and uncrossed his arms. He started to walk to the door without a word. I thought I had made him angry with my answer but he stopped before walking out the door. He smiled slightly at me.

"I think you should come," he said. "There is someone who'd like to meet you."

With that the man walked out of the room. I stood up from the bed and called out to him.

"Wait," I said. "I didn't get your name."

There was no answer and I didn't think I'd get one. I walked over to the door and peeked out to see if I could find the man. I looked both ways but the only people in the hallway were nurses and doctors; the man had disappeared. I glanced both ways to make sure I didn't just miss him but I knew he was gone. I walked back into the room grabbed my bag then headed to the front desk to get checked out. The water bender who had treated my wounds wanted me to stay overnight but there was no way I would. Not only would this trip to the doctor's already cost me a few hundred Yuans but I didn't see why I would need to stay. My wounds were fully healed and I felt better save for the soreness.

I got to the front desk and stood quietly waiting for the nurse to turn around. When she didn't, I hit the bell to get her attention.

"Yes?" The nurse asked.

"I'm like to check out, please."

"Name?"

"Natsumi Cho," I replied. "I was in room 208 down the left wing."

The woman smiled and nodded before turning her back to me again. I watched as she dug through piles of papers on the desk until she found mine. She turned back to me with a troubled expression.

"Are you sure," said the woman, "you don't want to stay overnight. It says here you lost two quarts of blood. That's quite a lot."

"Yes, I'm sure," I said. "If I feel sick, I'll come back."

With a troubled expression still present, the nurse said, "Alright, just sign here and here."

I signed the documentation then without another word I left the hospital. When I got outside I was shocked to see how late it had gotten; the sun was already setting and I was a twenty minute walk away from the hotel. I slowly began to walk down the street careful not to bump into anyone. I wanted nothing more than to go back to my hotel, curl up, and sleep for two days. Soreness from the injuries was starting to become painful with each step I took.

While I walked, I thought about the Anti-Bending Rally and if I'd actually go. I did want to see how benders and non-benders were going to be equal; I just didn't want to see anyone get hurt in the process.

* * *

Lieutenant jumped up onto the building where Amon and six Chi Blockers were. He walked straight up to his leader and stood next to him silently. Lieutenant didn't know how long Amon and Chi Blockers had been here. When the girl was being interviewed by the Metalbenders, Lieutenant had left the room to call Amon. His leader had told him to tell the girl about the rally tomorrow and to find out her name. He did both; he never failed Amon.

"Well," said Amon.

Lieutenant turned a little so he could see his leader. Amon was facing forward with his hands behind his back and watching the girl as she sauntered out of hospital. Lieutenant could tell she was still hurting by her slow pace and the face she was making with each step she took.

"I told her," Lieutenant said. "She said her name was Natsumi but I think she was lying."

Amon didn't reply; he continued staring at the girl until she was out of sight. He turned toward the two closest Chi Blockers and motioned for them to come closer.

"Follow her," he said, "and find out what you can about her."

The two Chi Blockers nodded and took off after the girl. Amon watched them go then he turned toward the remaining Chi Blockers and Lieutenant

"Let's pay Charan and Ryuu a visit," Amon said.


End file.
